


Code Red Riding Hood

by prismdreams



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DCU (Comics), Green Arrow (Comics), Green Arrow - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Politics, Explicit Language, F/M, Friendship/Love, Love Confessions, Love/Hate, Politics, Rating May Change, Ratings: R, Sex, True Love, Work In Progress, mature - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-29
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-23 22:48:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4895293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prismdreams/pseuds/prismdreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity Smoak believed all her life she was just an average girl. The problem was she didn't exactly live the life of one, thanks in part to her father. Her path in life led her back to the familiar, she was meaning to care for the one man who had always protected her. The thing is, maybe someone should just be there for her, if only she'd let them. Olicity AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Felicity Smoak walked up the towering steps leading to the front door of her house. Her date was by her side and she couldn't stop smiling. She had such a great time she had almost forgotten how to how fun on a date. It had been a long time since she was asked.

She met Jacob at one of her father's business parties. He was studying in the same class as her dad but they managed to bond over other things that had nothing to do with business. She had this uncontrollable need to blush every time he made her laugh. Felicity had a habit of blushing around men that made her nervous anyway. Jacob wasn't a complete match but they were getting along much better than she thought they would.

He had clear green eyes, a clean sports car and he offered to open doors for her. She thought he was unbelievably sweet it almost didn't register to her that he was the son of a business owner. She glanced his way when they came to the front door.

"I had a lovely time tonight. Kind of surprising actually." She said, smiling from ear to ear.

He looked on with an amused expression. "Well I'm glad. Did you think I was going to be boring like all the other sons of CEOs?"

Felicity turned her eyes away before answering. "Maybe, I didn't know what to think at the party. You came off as too good to be true."

"Do I? Does that mean after tonight I had you thinking I was going to ignore you and spend the rest of our date looking at my phone?"

Felicity's mouth twitched.

"Thought so. I had it turned off since it does vibrate constantly for work. Tonight I had a good reason to leave it off. A special reason at that..." He said, coming closer to her.

She shied away slightly but welcomed his close proximity. Felicity instinctively looked around jumping when she heard a noise in the bushes. She rolled her eyes and firmly stood in front of Jacob, feeling the familiar speech about to come out of her mouth.

"I should go. Is that OK with you?" She asked, wincing while he stood a foot's distance away.

Jacob's eyes wondered around just as she had a minute ago. "Are we being watched?"

She leaned in to whisper something, "I think so, and you shouldn't be scared; they won't hurt you."

Jacob reeled back almost abruptly. He knew who Felicity was but he thought she didn't have what he thought she did. Even on a date no less.

"Sorry." He said, holding his hands up in a mock gesture. "Not doing anything I shouldn't. I had a great time with a gorgeous girl tonight. If you plan on offing me, do it now because I can die a happy man."

Felicity playfully smacked his shoulder. "Don't give them leverage to. I'm really sorry Jake. Maybe next time we'll go through the back. Or, like, maybe if your dad is not home we could hang out at your place. I don't know what I'm saying. Just...I'm sorry. This really sucks."

Jacob held out his hands and Felicity held them softly. His hands were firm but gentle.

"Big time." He smiled before leaning forward, pressing his lips against her cheek gently. He stopped near her ear. "You look lovely tonight."

"I can try harder next time."

"I hope there is a next time." Jacob said, pulling away to look at her. "Let me know..."

Felicity nodded unfortunately letting go of his hands as she turned to open the door. The inner monologue in her brain was replaying how great the night was. Tonight was exactly what she needed. For once she wasn't feeling anxious that her date might feel intimidated, even though they have every reason to be.

It wasn't too late; she managed to be home before midnight, like her father requested. Not that she was trying to disobey his wishes, she didn't need the protection, and she was an adult and could manage her own life.

Being a twenty something wasn't exactly easy, especially when it came to living with her dad. He's not just anyone either. Their life isn't like everyone else's either but Felicity looked on the bright side as she had with most things.

Felicity slipped off her heels and placed her purse on the couch in the living room. She knew at this time her dad would be in "the bat cave," which was also known as his work area; but Felicity referred to it as a cave due to the amount of time her father spent in there with the door closed working on various dissertations for his profession. The door should have a pole that leads down to something in her eyes.

All kidding and jokes aside there was a purpose for her being here, she moved back after her parents' divorce. She knew her father was going through one of the worst times of his life and she wanted to find some way to comfort and be there for him. He always told her he was fine and it was wonderful she decided to come back to live with him; but he was hurting and she knew she had to help him.

He missed her, Felicity could tell. She missed him too. One of his biggest flaws was his over protectiveness on her personal life. She felt almost overwhelmed by his status but she only knew him as "dad" so she didn't think much of it. Living under a roof of someone with his job status had been an interesting life.

Like many times before Felicity suspected he was in his room, again, staring at the front of his desk, one eye on the phone, waiting for her to call him and tell him she was okay.

She dropped her shoes in the closet and tip toed toward the door that was closed shut. It opened before she could knock on it and her dad's worried face turned around when he hugged his daughter tightly. Felicity almost rolled her eyes but smiled at his antics. She knew he was going to make of fuss of her going out, she just didn't expect her air to run out from his relief.

"Hi dad, so I can't breathe, can I—" she began when he pulled away, looking at her for a moment before walking back to his room, pacing around. "Told you I'd come back at the time you wanted."

He smiled sadly as he sat down on his couch near his desk. "I know that..." he looked up and met her eyes. "I know who you were out with too. I'm just—"

"Not used to it?"

"Maybe. Perhaps. I trust you sweetheart but I can't help but be concerned. At least somewhat." He said, sounding sincere in Felicity's perspective.

Felicity bit her lip, taking a seat next to her father; the room was quiet for a few seconds until she cleared her throat.

"I'll try to be home more often. I don't really go out anyway. I'm sorry if I worried you," Felicity said, she watched her father shift from somber to indifferent in expression.

"I want you to be happy. I am...I don't know. It's so new, being here. Being without—"

"Mom? I'm so sorry dad." She frowned. "But we're still here. You know you and me? Like we always were. I came back because I wanted to be here, I think it's so sad what's happened the last few months. I know you didn't deserve that. You were and you still are an amazing father to me."

Felicity gave him warm another hug as he nodded while kissing her forehead before walking back to his desk. She looked on and noticed he was in the middle of writing a speech, she wasn't sure, she just knew it looked official and law-themed.

It was her cue then to get up and leave him be. She knew her father needed company but he also needed his space too. The men in Felicity's life had a track record of being too fragile and complex. It pained her to see him down on his luck, but she knew constantly bringing up the reason for his distractions wasn't helping either. Unless he talked about it first, she never forced him to discuss anything involving the divorce or her mother.

"I'm going to bed." Felicity announced, about to walk out when her father called her.

"Did you have fun?" He asked her from his desk, seemingly curious.

Felicity smiled slightly looking down, almost concealing her blush. "He was nice… and yeah I kinda did."

"I see, are you gonna see him again?"

Felicity thought about it for a moment. "Don't know. We'll see. He's a busy guy. Since you know him I don't need to remind you of that."

He nodded, going back to what he was doing before. "As long as you let him pay I approve of this date completely."

She laughed at that, he was trying to be facetious. "I offered but he insisted."

He looked at her from his reading glasses. "A woman should never offer to pay. He asked you he should pay always."

Felicity turned on her heel, laughing as she sent him a final answer. "Not a feminist but I'm not against going Dutch dad. I don't think he would have minded this one time."

"Good night Felicity." He said staunchly as Felicity walked up the stairs.

"Good night dad. See you in the morning."

Felicity heard rustling behind her as she went to her room and turned around as her father appeared at her doorway.

"Hey, can I you stay here tomorrow around lunch time?"

Felicity's eyebrows bunched together, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah...it is, it's just—I need you here for something. Can you do it?"

Felicity walked forward, feeling uneasy but her father's request sounded urgent enough.

"Of course."


	2. Chapter 2

Felicity pulled out her journal and began writing. After the divorce, she accompanied her father to a handful of sessions to see a family therapist. She saw only had one session with her mother and a part of her regretted it; mainly because it wasn't a pleasant experience being around someone living in so much denial.

She thought good things about her mother but the person she is right now is not someone she would like to have a relationship with. At least for right now, Felicity can decide to take one day down the road to mend what's broken but she came home for her father and she made a promise to him that she was going to keep.

It was hard to make sense of all that's happened. She wrote about half of the page until her pen couldn't write anymore. She placed the end of the pen in her mouth, pondering why she had so little to say. More and more she was starting to not care about the drama between her parents. She is a mature adult, it's time to stop living the past.

Just as her father requested, she stayed until the afternoon. She didn't know what he was going to say, she hoped it wasn't anything to do with her parents. There were only so many fights she could stomach. Sometimes people are better off not being near each other. Felicity always thought if it took _that_ much work to keep a marriage together, why bother staying together?

Her mind wondered back to Jacob and their date yesterday. She assumed he was going to bore her so she didn't expect much from the night. She didn't think the next day she'd still have a smile on her face thinking of all the moments that led up to when she came home. She had a feeling they were being watched but Jacob didn't seem to mind. She might give him a second date; her thoughts were leaning toward a yes being a good chance in his favor. She would decide when it felt right. No reason to rush.

"Felicity?" Her father called from the living room.

"Coming, one sec." She responded as she took a few seconds to mentally prepare herself for what she was about to hear.

She gulped down any trepidation while walking out of the room and down the winding stairway. She pushed her long, blonde hair away from her face so she can clearly see what was in front of her as she entered the dimly lit room. Her father was waiting for her but looked like he was in the middle of something. He dropped the task he was doing instantly when he saw his daughter.

"Hey sweetheart, take a seat, I wanna say something."

 _Oh boy, oh no._ Her thoughts were running rampant. She nodded and calmly took a seat on the couch as her father came near her sitting on his favorite recliner. The last time he said those words he announced he and her mother were separating.

But looking at her father's mood it didn't match what she remembered.

He smiled as he watched her fidget, she got that trait from him; he moved closer to her and put his hand over hers. "Relax, it's nothing bad. It's nothing to do with Jacob either. Don't worry."

"OK, good...well, what is it?"

Her father sighed and sat up straighter as he leaned toward Felicity. "I can't be everywhere at once. I wish I could. I tried to be there for you when you first off to college. I regret that very much."

She understood what he meant. "But you were the one who supported me during graduation and helped me after to make sure I was on the right path." Felicity smiled softly as she recalled the memory.

"I only wish I could have done more, I wish your mother was reliable during our separation, I wish she was more accepting of your choices. It was brave to go into your profession. I offered to help you but you wanted to do everything on your own. You were always like that. It's one of the reasons why I love you so much darling. You're strong-willed."

Felicity wasn't great at receiving compliments so she nodded and smiled at her dad, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't she spoke. The air between them had grown awkward.

"Why do I get the feeling if it's not Jacob or mom this is about, but it's something I personally did?"

"Sweetheart you did nothing wrong. I asked to talk to you because I want to tell you how grateful I am that you came back home. That despite not having both your mother and I together, you remained mature and undistracted in your goals. But... in coming back, I made this decision yesterday and I'm afraid what I'm about to tell you may catch you off guard."

Felicity bit her lip, wincing as she glanced to the floor. "What is it?"

"I'm running for re-election. My campaign is meant to start tomorrow morning." Her father told her as she narrowed her eyes before looking at him.

"That's what you were worried about?"

He nervously shifted before replying, "Yes, I will be traveling a lot during the course of the next months. This will be my second term; I owe it to the people who kept me in office to keep doing good work. My adviser suggested I drop out and focus on the local community. I would prefer to put my full attention on the community of the state instead. I have amazing ideas to put forth to the campaigns and promises I intend to keep. You coming back is wonderful for me. But I can't be everywhere to watch you."

Felicity bit her lip, smiling, "Dad, have I ever needed watching? I went with you for the first time you ran and I was perfectly fine handling myself on my own."

"Yeah I recall that. You made some of the service agents roll their eyes, but they told me they believed you because of your self-defense background you took growing up." He said proudly.

"And thank _you_ for that. I needed it; nobody messed with me in high school right through college. I even trained in kickboxing during my freshman year. I certainly might have put a lot of guys off. Mom was always against it, she said I was going to get hurt because it was still "a man's world"." Felicity said sadly.

"She was wrong, it was the best thing for you, I'm happy you took it seriously. But...well; now it's a little bit different. I was around more before the divorce because our family was a team. Now the team is shattered."

"Dad, it's not your fault." Felicity touched her father's hand. "I don't ever put the blame on you. I know you wanted to try fix things with mom, I know what you went through and I wished I could have done more to help." She said as he shook his head at her anxiousness.

"Don't think that sweetheart. You were all I had left. I know it was hard of you to choose sides and I didn't want you to, I was hoping your mother wouldn't change when we split. But she intended to split this family even further. She ignored the ramifications to her actions. I'm sorry I put you through all that."

"It wasn't you though; I wanted peace, so I made the right decision. All mom wanted to do was be right and control everyone. I'm glad I chose you. I wouldn't think twice about that if I did it again." Felicity said, squeezing her father's hand, letting him aware of her protection over him.

He glanced at what she did and looked up before closing his eyes to answer. "I know...I realize that now."

Felicity didn't respond back, she watched her father in thought before he turned to her with a serious expression.

"I have to protect you. I'm willing to do so much for this term and I fear other people will try to get in my path, I can't risk that. If I will run again, I will be prepared now; I don't want you to worry about defending yourself. I just want you safe and sound. You're my first priority Felicity. Without you, realistically, there is nothing to strive for, you're the best person in my life; I want you safe and well. I don't want to put you through harm."

"You make it sound like something awful is about to happen to me."

"I don't—I don't want it to sweetheart. I just want you to be careful from now on when you go out in public. Not everyone likes me or my policies and the people who support me are guilty by association." Her father said before standing up and going back to his business.

"Am I supposed to worry?" Felicity stiffly turned her body to almost glare at him going back to work. "Dad?" She asked in a small but forceful tone.

Hearing her speak that way to him was foreign. He didn't want her to feel anxious but it was already there. He risked telling her that, not that he wasn't grateful she knew but it came with a price. She can only know what he has told her, nothing else.

"No, there is no need to worry. I know you can handle life on your own, I am just making sure you know what I'm up against in my line of work."

Felicity hesitated before standing up, she was about to leave when she turned around.

"So I guess Jacob is out of question. Why won't you just tell me you don't me to see him?"

Her father lowered his reading glasses to look at her. "No, I never said that. I don't ever want to control what you do."

Felicity nodded, unsure if she should leave the room or find out more. Her father always had her best interest at heart. This wasn't any different. She never questioned his motives. They rarely fought so she nodded a second time which he saw, and he sent her smile.

"Are you going to see him again?"

Felicity hadn't thought of it. The date just happened. She felt as if the answer could have been either one now that she's heard this new and formal information.

"I haven't decided that. I mean, if you hated him I wouldn't feel right to continue seeing him."

Her father cleared his throat. "Sweetie, I don't mind you seeing him. I don't mind you going out with anyone. As long as you feel safe then it shouldn't matter what I think. Even though despite that, I approve." He smiled her way.

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Thanks...well I guess that's that right? There's nothing else to tell me?"

He took a few seconds to respond. "Not at the moment. My campaign will start that's all the news I have for you. I know you are capable of taking care of yourself. I trust you."

Felicity almost wanted to laugh at how serious he was being. Sure his profession was dramatic and dire at times but he made it seem like her life was in some kind of danger because he was running for Senate in a second term.

"Alright Dad. Thanks for telling me what I already know." He gave her a cross look but she put her hands up. "Hey I said thanks. That should count for something of value."

"It does, you know that Felicity. If you need anything, I'll be in here for some time until I retire to bed."

"Yeah...you can drop the political jargon we're not in front of a press conference." She waved before closing the door behind.

She thought about what her father said and let it wash over her while she pondered the purpose. Sure he was always the more protective parent and that's normal but something was a little bit out of character with the way he said she needed protection.

She shook it off before going back to her room and giving a second thought to phoning Jacob for a second date.


End file.
